Be Present: From Seclusion to Sanctuary by Deanna Clardy

Did you ever build a fort when you were a child? Did you have that special place created just for you? A place where you sought refuge?  Growing up, I remember the excitement in being able to express my creativeness through the art of fort building.  A secluded fortress, nestled in the tree line of a neighborhood park, or even a mere sheet thrown over a table in a back bedroom, offered me a place of solitude and acceptance.  It was a place I could go without the fear of being made fun of, judged or condemned.  A place where I didn't have to worry about being good enough, or not having what it took to be a part of something bigger than the nothing that I had made myself out to be. 

I found solace in solitude.  I had convinced myself that my fortress, albeit lonely, would protect me from pain, attack, and danger.  I would always be welcomed and accepted there.  But in the end, I had merely constructed my own seclusion.

Looking back, I realize I had a huge void in my life.  As a young child [and in many ways, it continued to impact me as an adult], I was seeking shelter, satisfaction, and solace from a world that only knew how to bring me pain, disappointment, and heartache.  Building walls around me offered little more than a facade of a fortress, nothing close to what my heart yearned for.

"How lovely is Your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. 
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—a place near Your altar, Lord Almighty, 
my King and my God. 
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever praising you. 
Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. 
As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; 
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me,
God of Jacob. Look on our shield, O God;
look with favor on Your anointed one. 
Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God 
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; 
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless. 
Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in You." 
--Psalm 84 [NIV]

Christ Jesus is my Shelter, my ultimate Fortress.  I have complete acceptance in Jesus.  In Him, I have nothing to fear and I will always be good enough.  In Him is a life of abundance, joy and love.  He has filled me to overflowing with a peace that surpasses all understanding, reaching to the very depths of my soul.

Christ has replenished all that was lost during those years of isolation and loneliness.  He has brought me out of seclusion, into His sanctuary.  He has surrounded me in His love and filled me to overflowing, affording me other “fort-mates” with whom I can share life with.  I've left the solitary confinement of my yesterday to enter into His lovely, and loving, dwelling place, today.

Encounter Prayer:
Christ Jesus, thank You for tearing down the secluded forts of my yesteryear and giving me the ultimate Fortress that I have in You.  How lovely is Your dwelling place, O GOD! Blessed is the one who trusts in You.  In Your holy name I pray, Amen.

Encounter:

• Are you still building secluded forts?  What is holding you back from tearing down the fortress walls of seclusion?
• In what ways have you felt that GOD was calling you out of your solitary confinement into His dwelling place?  How did you respond?

Devotional composed by Deanna Clardy of Younger Generation Church. Posted with permission by A. Allan Martin.

Be Present: Midst The Storm by Deanna Clardy

“I can’t believe this is happening,” I said out loud as I sat there with tears streaming down my face.  Placing the handset into its cradle, I just stared at the phone, as the doctor’s words played over and over in my head.   

“It is level three cancer, and it is very aggressive.”   

I didn’t know what to do--how I would tell my family, what to think, or how to even wrap my mind around this hand that life had just dealt me.  I was paralyzed in an instant, and in that same instant, a flood of fury and worry, capsized with fear, infiltrated my mind.  My surroundings engulfed me, and everything I knew to be true in my life, in that single moment, dissipated into oblivion. 

But GOD [how I love those two words put together].  But GOD reminded me to Whom I belong.  He filled my heart and instructed me to sit still to be fully present in my surroundings. To empty my mind of all the chaotic thoughts that were striving to take first place in a never ending swarm of theories and ideologies.  He reminded me that He is present, and for me to be present with Him, right where I am. 

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”  --Matthew 6:25-27 [NIV]

Worry, doubt, fear, anxiety, apprehension….it all equals death. Death of the spirit, death of joy, death of hope, death of health, all lead to death of life.  This goes against everything GOD wants and intends for me.

Even in the eye of the storm of my surroundings, or my circumstances, He is there, waiting for me to be fully present with Him, right where I am. In the same way that olives must be crushed to make oil, He poured out His life as a love offering for all of us.  He doesn’t ever want me to doubt that He is with me, and that He wants to take me to a place of comfort, peace, and victory. Even when I cannot see Him in my situation or circumstance, He is there, working on my behalf.  He desires me to give to Him the crushing weight of my circumstances, and freely go to Him in prayer.  When it is time to move in or from my surroundings or circumstance, He will walk with me through the valley and straight to the cross, where my trials will be transformed into triumph, and give me beauty for my ashes.

Encounter Prayer:  You, O GOD, are my strength to strength.  I yearn for the day wherein I see You face to face in Zion. I come into Your presence, Lord.  Quiet my mind, my soul and my spirit so that I can be forever present, right where I am. May I not give way to distractions, but continually keep my focus on You, and to always shine Christ’s light to a dark world.  Better is one day in Your courts, Lord, than a thousand elsewhere.  May today, and every day, I meet You in Your courts.  In Christ’s ever present Name I pray. Amen.

Encounter:

• What circumstance are you facing that you think GOD cannot handle? How will you remove yourself from your own thoughts and stop being subjective, in order to seek GOD and gain His objective?
• What are you holding on to that is keeping you from being completely present in GOD?
• What, or who, do you first turn to in times of worry, fear and uncertainty? What steps will you take today to becoming fully present with GOD through all life’s circumstances?

Devotional contributed by Deanna Clardy of Younger Generation Church. Posted with permission by A. Allan Martin.